Description

Say to Kikusui.

This kraft paper tape is made in Osaka, Japan () by Kikusui Tape Co., who’ve been making tape since 1949. That’s 77 years of obsessing over sticky stuff, so you don’t have to.

Here’s the dirty secret of the paper tape world: most of it is wearing a plastic raincoat. Flip a roll over and there’s usually a layer of polyethylene laminated onto the paper. Kikusui skipped the raincoat. It’s kraft paper, a natural rubber adhesive and a special release coat, and that’s it. The paper is FSC certified, and 75% of the tape is biomass (Japan’s Biomass Mark says so, not just us). The manufacturer’s data also puts its CO emissions at less than half those of plastic polypropylene tape.

It’s a dream to pack with, too. It tears clean by hand (), so put down the scissors and save your teeth for the Tim Tams. The matte back takes a permanent marker, so “FRAGILE”, “THIS WAY UP” and “sorry it’s late, Brenda” go straight on the tape. And the special release coat gives the surface some grip, so stacked cartons stay stacked instead of sliding around the back of the van. It fits any standard tape gun or our benchtop dispenser.

Team Ecotape? No judgement. Ecotape is the compostable one, with more metres per roll. Kikusui is for the all-paper look, the marker-friendly back and that Japanese build quality.

One more thing: Kikusui () means “chrysanthemum water”. We’re not sure what that has to do with tape either, but it’s on every core and it’s very pretty.